[Phil6]

WAY out of range

winter map (source- USGS)

Rare, but not unheard of. Maybe we'll start seeing them around.

Unrelated but it looks like a crows are starting to make a big comeback after the huge die off years ago. Seeing lots of adolescent groups hanging out.

Osprey are doing great

So happy to hear this. Great picture of an absolutely gorgeous bird. Hopefully Ill see one in the near future.

 

[Rich D]

Thanks, Mark!

I keep meaning to learn more about birds. Would love to be able to identify some of the common back and forth calls I hear when out in the woods.

 

[Rambler]

Not to disagree Mark but I've been a birder for going on 50 years. Back in the day we didn't see vultures - Black or Turkey - around Chicago. These days I see Blacks all the time - Turkeys less so. It might have something to do with where we are. In the Cook Cty FPs I find Blacks are more common.

Unrelated but it looks like a crows are starting to make a big comeback after the huge die off years ago. Seeing lots of adolescent groups hanging out.

Crows and their cousins, Blue Jays are highly vulnerable to West Nile Fever. The big die off a few years back was due to this. When I hear crows & jays in the woods during the Summer I'm happy not just because they're there but also because it means there's probably no West Nile virus around.

 

[Bassin' Ted]

I'm not a fan of Fords but I saw this one up close and it is a badass machine! The color is gorgeous.

 

[Phil6]

Crows and their cousins, Blue Jays are highly vulnerable to West Nile Fever. The big die off a few years back was due to this. When I hear crows & jays in the woods during the Summer I'm happy not just because they're there but also because it means there's probably no West Nile virus around.

I wasnt aware that it had killed off Blue Jays, but now that you mention it I have seen a lot more of them than I ever did when I was younger.

 

[Rambler]

I'm not a fan of Fords but I saw this one up close and it is a badass machine! The color is gorgeous.

That truck is insane. 450HP 3.5L V6. WTF??? You could hawl a lot of shit at very high rates of speed with that setup. Assuming of course you don't mind spending over $50k (just for starters) on A FREAKING PICKUP TRUCK!!! :lol:

 

[Mark K]

I'm not a fan of Fords but I saw this one up close and it is a badass machine! The color is gorgeous.

That truck is insane. 450HP 3.5L V6. WTF??? You could hawl a lot of shit at very high rates of speed with that setup. Assuming of course you don't mind spending over $50k (just for starters) on A FREAKING PICKUP TRUCK!!! :lol:

Not to disagree Mark but I've been a birder for going on 50 years. Back in the day we didn't see vultures - Black or Turkey - around Chicago. These days I see Blacks all the time - Turkeys less so. It might have something to do with where we are. In the Cook Cty FPs I find Blacks are more common.

Unrelated but it looks like a crows are starting to make a big comeback after the huge die off years ago. Seeing lots of adolescent groups hanging out.

Crows and their cousins, Blue Jays are highly vulnerable to West Nile Fever. The big die off a few years back was due to this. When I hear crows & jays in the woods during the Summer I'm happy not just because they're there but also because it means there's probably no West Nile virus around.

Where is we are?
Honestly I have never seen one. Apparantly they do exist 'round these parts.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bla ... -sightings

 

[Mark K]

[/quote]

Not to disagree Mark but I've been a birder for going on 50 years. Back in the day we didn't see vultures - Black or Turkey - around Chicago. These days I see Blacks all the time - Turkeys less so. It might have something to do with where we are. In the Cook Cty FPs I find Blacks are more common.

Unrelated but it looks like a crows are starting to make a big comeback after the huge die off years ago. Seeing lots of adolescent groups hanging out.

Crows and their cousins, Blue Jays are highly vulnerable to West Nile Fever. The big die off a few years back was due to this. When I hear crows & jays in the woods during the Summer I'm happy not just because they're there but also because it means there's probably no West Nile virus around.

Where is we are?
Honestly I have never seen one. Apparantly they do exist 'round these parts. I do believe that TVs outnumber them by huge margins. But would not be the first time I was wrong.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bla ... -sightings[/quote]

 

[Mark K]

Wow, giving myself an atta-boy on this one. I forgot I shot this, This is with an old Nikkor Zoom @ 145mm. I'm sure I cropped this. Turkey Vulture by Mark Kasick, on Flickr

Really interesting articles on vultures if google "vulture digestive" or "vulture smell"

 

[Busse Jim]

Sorry Rambler but I got to agree with Kank, I have never identified a black vulture round here. And since 2012 I've seen dozens and dozens of turkey vultures, more every year since. I realize the white at the end of the wings varies in intensity but there is no way they are even remotely more common than the turkeys. There northern most range makes it midway up Illinois, and sure there might be some spillover in the range but turkey vultures are the predominate vulture in these parts
Seen immature and adult Ospreys at busse but never a raven,. Not sure I could tell the difference between one and a crow at a distance, unless it squawked " nevermore" .

 

[Bassin' Ted]

I'm not a fan of Fords but I saw this one up close and it is a badass machine! The color is gorgeous.

That truck is insane. 450HP 3.5L V6. WTF??? You could hawl a lot of shit at very high rates of speed with that setup. Assuming of course you don't mind spending over $50k (just for starters) on A FREAKING PICKUP TRUCK!!! :lol:

I hear ya. I would never get one. 50K+ is the cost of a full size loaded truck nowadays. I have gotten comfortable to the fact that my next pickup in a couple years (Tundra) will be somewhere in the 40s. That's just the price to play.

 

[Mark K]

So many great birds coming back to the area. Over this past winter all of my Fox outings involved bald eagle sightings, with one of my spots seemingly home to a resident osprey.

Last week, in Warrenville, I drove by two sandhill cranes, just standing by the side of the road next to a small pond. I slowed down to look at them in disbelief.

Very cool, very much appreciated.

Thanks, Mark!

The Audubon app is something like $5. It has calls and is excellent for ID.

This book covers 99% of what you will see in Chicagoland without all the extras.
https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Chicago-U- ... icago+book

I keep meaning to learn more about birds. Would love to be able to identify some of the common back and forth calls I hear when out in the woods.

 

[Rich D]

Thanks again, Mark. Very much appreciated!

 

[Rambler]

50K+ is the cost of a full size loaded truck nowadays. I have gotten comfortable to the fact that my next pickup in a couple years (Tundra) will be somewhere in the 40s. That's just the price to play.

I come from a time & place where people drove cars. Not SUVs, crosscrap, etc. - CARS. Farmers drove pickups - and we liked it that way. My favorite pickup was always the Studebaker Champ - what a classic. Last time I saw one on the road was in the early 70s on the West side of Teton pass.

Now back to the whole vulture thing. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe what I've been seeing lo these many years are Turkey Vultures in blackface. I'M REPORTING THEM IMMEDIATELY TO THE PC POLICE. THIS WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED!!! :lol:

One last vulture thing. Frequently when one (usually a Black no matter what you guys think) flies overhead I think of one of my heroes - the late, great Edward Abbey author of classics such as 'The Brave Cowboy', 'Desert Solitaire' and 'The Monkey Wrench Gang'. He always wanted to die on a rock bench looking out over what he called "The back of beyond" in the American SW where his bones could be picked clean by vultures.

Unfortunately he died on an operating table. I have always suspected his heirs & friends laid his body out somewhere on the Arizona strip North of the Grand Canyon so at least part of his wish could come true. At least I hope they did.

 

[Mark K]

Thanks again, Mark. Very much appreciated!

No prob. Here is that app.

http://www.audubon.org/app

 

[grems]

I use the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell, very good at identifying birds through a simple set of questions, free but no bird calls.